Description
Book SynopsisDavid Bordwell’s new book is at once a history of film criticism, an analysis of how critics interpret film, and a proposal for an alternative program for film studies. It is an anatomy of film criticism meant to reset the agenda for film scholarship.
Trade ReviewIt’s hard to avoid superlatives when talking about David Bordwell’s work. Let me simply say that here is a book which, for lucidity, breadth, erudition, and rigor, only he could have written. It addresses and analyzes interpretive practice in a way that only the most self-absorbed critic can ignore, and then only at his or her own risk. -- Seymour Chatman * Film Quarterly *
Making Meaning is a startling and important book. -- Barry Salt * Sight & Sound *
[Bordwell] approaches the issue with his characteristically refreshing candor, clarity, and wit, proceeding from the direct question, ‘How do film interpreters actually come up with the meanings at which they arrive?’ …The controversies sure to be ignited by
Making Meaning, in the short run, will be anything but dull; in the long run, its contributions to the development of film poetics will be of even greater import. -- Herb Eagle * Wide Angle *
An A-list historian and theorist himself, Bordwell is the unchallenged
capo di tutti capi of academic film studies… His industrial-strength overview is a streamlined and steady Eurail pass through the Continental modes of thought that have dominated the American university since the late ’60s. -- Thomas Doherty * Boston Phoenix Literary Supplement *
A new book by David Bordwell is always an event. The wealth of examples, the sharp prose and vividness of his presentation give his writing force and persuasiveness. -- Thomas Elsaesser
